Fire Scott Arniel NOW!!

The last time I posted here I was wondering what identity the Jackets had and who was responsible for it, or the lack thereof. After Saturday’s New Year’s Eve Game I got my answer: clueless a**hole. That is the identity being projected and the description of the person doing the projection. The Jackets coughed up a 4 goal hairball, losing a two goal lead and the game. Afterwards Head Coach Scott Arniel was predictably facing some tough questions in his press conference. He did not handle it…well, see it here.

If you are unable to listen, the transcript is below the video.

Let’s be clear, I have no real issue with a coach being testy in a post-game press conference, nor I am upset that Arniel goes off on a female reporter. Lori Schmidt is without a doubt the finest sports reporter employed at any of the WBNS operations, quite possibly in any of the Wolfe media outlets. Nor did Arniel scream or shout, he did not use obscenities.

My problem is in the paranoid “me against everybody else” tone and to greater extent the level of ignorance in his own team’s performance. It is one thing to claim that your team does fine in one area of play, four on four, it is another to falsely claim that you have the stats to back it up. Even worse is to have someone call your bluff right there. Arniel’s response was understandably angry, he was caught in a staggering bit of ignorance, but his reaction that the media was “piling on” somehow was just bizarre. Any review of local media will turn up at worst surprise that Arniel still has his job. But a reading of the Dispatch archives will show far more concerted efforts to get other Jackets staff fired or hired at points in the not too distant past. Even worse is the fact that the Head Coach was unaware that his team had been outscored 8 to 1 on four on four play. He thought they were matching up against other teams evenly!

The problems with the Jackets may go deeper than coaching, but after Arniel’s unveiling as an idiot with no knowledge of his own team’s performance there should be no trade, no move, made prior to replacing Arniel even with an interim coach. See what problem’s remain in a month or two.

Yet, GM Scott Howson or anybody in the Jackets front office has refused to address the issue. As of this writing there has not been an apology for his behavior from Arniel. There is no credible explanation why Arniel is still employed by the Jackets. Do they simply not want to pay another salary to a coach who is not working for them anymore?

For whatever reason, Scott Arniel is still employed by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Jackets played on Saturday, and then had until this coming Thursday off. They have wasted a perfect opportunity to remove Arniel and have several practices under the new head coach and a road trip under the radar out on the west coast. Why?